There were a few surprises. Jiang Zemin picked the
relatively unknown Hu Jintao as his successor prompting
people to ask "Who's Hu?"

In Nepal, King Gyanendra shocked the region by dismissing
former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba's government and
temporarily taking power for himself. He eventually appointed
his own personal pick as the new PM.

For those who don't remember, King Gyanendra was crowned after
the tragic murder of his brother, King Birendra and his family.
The official reports blamed then Crown Prince Dipendra, but
many Nepalis remain unsure.

However Hu Jintao and King Gyanendra stole the headlines for only
brief periods. The APU Person of the Year must be the most
significant newsmaker in and from the Asia Pacific region
throughout the year.

Our choice for 2002 has to be Indonesia's president
Megawati Sukarnoputri.

Indonesia faced great challenges over in 2002 including
the Bali nightclub bombing. The al-Qaeda network is believed to
have become very active in the region.

At the same time, Megawati was deeply involved in peace
negotiations with the Aceh separatist movement. Rebels
from this part of Indonesia have engaged the government
in one of Southeast Asia's longest conflicts.

At press time, the news agencies reported that Megawati
was in Bali to usher in the New Year by ringing a
ceremonial gong. During the Christmas holiday, she sang
carols in mostly Christian Papua, another province with its
own separatist movement.

Indeed, Megawati has had to move from one problem area
to another all year long. Maybe that's one reason
she pulled out at the last minute from attending East Timor's
independence celebrations.

The Bali new year festivities were held at Kuta beach, the site of
the nightclub bombing attack. Only the day before, Indonesian
police found a ton of the same fertilizer used in the
Bali bombing on the island of Sulawesi far to the east.

Yet, supporters note that the president has been successful
against tremendous odds. She managed to calm down the religious
fighting in Maluku in addition to bringing the Aceh rebels
to the table. And there's no sign that her popularity is
dropping among Indonesia's masses.

The daughter of the man known as the "father of the nation"
in Indonesia can only hope that the gong's sounding
will chase away any bad luck for 2003. Maybe she longs for
a quieter year. But for 2002, she is the solid choice for
person of the year.